German
Market Review
1)
Based on Cushman &Wakefield LLP
German Office Market
Strong Office Leasing Activity in Germany
The latest figures from Colliers International Research
Germany showed an increased take up rate in the fourth
quarter in 2014 in the German office leasing market.
Approximately 3million squaremetres (“sqm”) of office
space was leased in the seven key German real estate
hubs: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne,
Munich and Stuttgart.
While the office markets in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne,
Munich and Stuttgart all reported an increase in leasing
in 2014 compared with 2013, office take up dropped in
Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. The reason for this has been
identified as the lack of availability of large-scale leasing
deals in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.
Berlin is undoubtedly the market leader at this time.
With a total take-up of over 700,000 sqm, an increase of
27%when compared to the previous year, Berlin proved
to be the most robust office market. The strong take-up
was primarily driven by demand from occupiers from
the IT and consulting industries which accounted for
approximately one-third of the total take-up.
Munich came in second with a total take-up of
620,900 sqm, an increase of approximately 4% year-
on-year. The high demand was largely driven by an
increase in lettings rather than take-up by owner
occupiers. Hamburg recorded a take-up of approximately
525,000 sqm in 2014, an increase of 19% year-on-year.
In Stuttgart, the take upwas recorded at 278,900 sqm, an
increase of 8%year-on-year and in contrast to the other
major hubs was driven completely by owner occupiers.
The largest owner occupier transaction recordedwas for
Daimler AG, who purchased 40,000 sqm.
The occupier market in Cologne continued to be
fairly stable with a take-up of 269,000 sqm. Frankfurt
recorded a decline in take-up of 18% at approximately
367,500 sqm. The majority of transactions in the city
related to smaller office suites, and there were no
significant transactions on a large scale. The largest
decline was recorded in Düsseldorf. A total take-up of
241,000 sqm signified a decrease of 30% year-on-year.
While the number of lettings in the city increased by
10%, the majority of transactions related to smaller
office suites.
Supply of NewOffice Space
In 2014, the total amount of stock under construction
was approximately 1.43 million sqm. Approximately
44% of the total office stock under construction was
completed in five key cities, namely Berlin, Dusseldorf,
Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg
1
.
Office stock under construction in 2014
Completed Stock in 2014
Still under construction
Expected stock at the end of 2015
273,900
632,900
523,200
Source: Cushman &Wakefield LLP
IREIT Global
annual report 2014
